What is Aaron Donald’s NFL legacy?

Longtime Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald announced in mid-March 2024 that he is retiring from the NFL. The 32 year-old spent his entire NFL tenure with the Rams organization. We’ll look back at Donald’s exemplary resume, and what he will be most remembered for now that his career is over. All statistics are sourced from Football Reference.

In his illustrious career, Donald took home three Defensive Player of the Year awards; in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Statmuse indicates that he’s tied with Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt for the most Defensive Player of the Year awards in NFL history.

Donald made the Pro Bowl in all 10 seasons of his NFL career. According to ESPN, he and Barry Sanders are the only players to make the Pro Bowl every year with a minimum of 10 years in the league. Donald was also an eight-time All-Pro.

As if the preceding honors weren’t enough, Donald was also a member of the 2010s Hall of Fame All-decade team.

Year after year, Donald notched nearly every possible accomplishment a player could hope to have. However, he was missing a Super Bowl ring, and was locked in on achieving that goal as he got into his 30s. The Rams won it all during the 2021 season, and Donald’s impact was crucial to getting the job done.

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The Cincinnati Bengals had the chance to tie or take the lead during Super Bowl LVI against Los Angeles, with the clock winding down. On a must-have-it fourth and one play, Donald came charging through the line and sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to secure the victory for the Rams.

Donald had made the Super Bowl one other time in his career, but lost to the New England Patriots. The star defensive player told the Washington Post after defeating Cincinnati, “we’re going to play in the confetti for a minute, man.” Donald knew just how significant of a milestone this was in his stellar career.

Donald amassed 111 sacks over his career, which comes out to a tidy 11 sack per season average over 10 years. He led the league in that category in 2018, notching 20.5 quarterback takedowns.

Fox Sports wrote about Donald’s impact in multiple facets of the game from the middle of the defensive line. It can be difficult to generate pressure up the middle, but Donald’s tremendous athleticism and strength allowed him to achieve that goal.

In January 2024, ESPN released their “win-rate” rankings, which helped to qualify how consistently defensive and offensive linemen were making their present felt at the line of scrimmage. Donald was ranked first in that category amongst defensive tackles in his final campaign, indicating that he left the NFL still very much at the top of his game.

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The Athletic wrote in 2019 that Donald “must be double teamed. This is not optional. This is not a suggestion.” Former Rams teammate Andrew Whitworth said in that piece, “the truth is they’re all doubling him. No one gets to claim ‘hey, I went one-on-one with this guy.’”

Recently retired center Jason Kelce had to block Donald at times during their career, and had a lot of admiration for the latter’s game. Kelce told Rams Wire, “He’s (Donald) is relentless, he’s like a bulldog down there that is just mad and angry.” Kelce also said on a New Heights podcast that trying to block Donald “was like trying to wrestle a liger coated in baby oil.”

Fox Sports analyst and NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long said in 2021 that he believed Donald would be the greatest defensive tackle to ever play in the NFL. Long was an eight time Pro Bowl defensive end with the Los Angeles Raiders.

Donald didn’t just show up on the field to magically exert his will over opponents. He’s been a tireless worker since childhood, as Fitness Volt learned. He would wake up at 4AM each day to exercise with his father. Donald would spend each day focused on a different part of his body. For example, on Monday’s he would focus on abs, but on Thursday’s turn his attention to cardio.

Donald said on the “I am Athlete” podcast in 2022, “I don’t need to play football to be fine. If I can win another one, that’s great. But if not, I’m at peace.”

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There’s no question that Donald is one of the best defensive players of all time. As Howie Long suggested, there’s a case to be made that he may be the greatest defensive tackle ever. What do you think about Donald’s standing in history? Let us know in the comments section!